The origins of solar distillation are lost in antiquity. The technique has not lent itself to general application because of the cumbersome, unattractive and generally manually operated equipment. People are now aware that household water may carry chemical contamination and many are buying electric stills which are expensive to operate and require much outside energy. Others rely upon filters which are usually only partially effective. Some persons carry expensive bottled water from the grocery market while others pay for home delivery of water made expensive by the fuel and labor necessary to deliver it. The present invention discloses a method of solar distillation for the home. The unit can be made attractive, compact, easy to operate and so simple to maintain and install that most homeowners can service the still themselves. The size of the still can be readily altered to match the expected incidence of sunlight for a given area and the required supply of pure water.